A Cairo administrative court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit calling for the abrogation of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on grounds that the issue constituted a 'matter of sovereignty' that could only be decided by the president of the republic.
Members of Egypt's Revolutionary Youth Union had filed the lawsuit against President Mohamed Morsi, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil and Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr to demand the cancellation of the 1978 peace treaty.
The plaintiffs argued that the limited Egyptian military presence in the Sinai Peninsula stipulated by in the treaty had led to the emergence of militant groups in Sinai that threatened the country’s national security.
Last month, presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said Egypt's peace treaty with Israel did not require modification at the present time, stressing that Egypt had the ability to maintain control over the Sinai Peninsula and restore security on its territory.
Ali's statement came amid intense public scrutiny of Egypt's ongoing battle against militants in Sinai after unknown assailants killed 16 Egyptian border guards in August near the border with the Gaza Strip.
The attack prompted Egypt's armed forces to launch an extensive military campaign in the area.
The Camp David Peace Treaty tightly limits the presence of Egyptian troops and artillery throughout much of the peninsula.
Following last year's 25 January uprising, several prominent Egyptian groups and figures demanded that Egypt-Israel relations be revised.
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